Stereo Hit
}} The Stereo Hit (ステレオヒット) is a Japanese camera taking pairs of 3×4cm exposures on 127 film, made by Tougodo from 1955. Description The Stereo Hit has a body made of plastic, looking very similar to contemporary models using 35mm film. The top housing covers the whole length of the body. It shows no engraving, contains the viewfinder in the middle and has an accessory shoe on the right. A black rectangular casing protrudes on the front of the camera, containing the shutter mechanism. On top of this casing we find the release button on the right, a PC synch socket on the left and a sliding lever in the middle, used to wind the shutter, which is certainly of the guillotine type. The front part of the casing has a silver-coloured rectangular plate with rounded angles, encompassing the two lenses and inscribed STEREO HIT in large uppercase letters in the middle. Above and below this marking are two small knobs: the upper one has a red dot and selects the lens aperture, it has 9'' and ''16 positions and the word STOP is inscribed above; the lower one has a green dot and B'' and ''I indications, for Bulb and Instant (1/25) settings, and the word SHUTTER is inscribed below. The lenses are fixed-focus and are spaced by 63mm. Spacing: column in no.63, p.117, reproduced in this page. The rims are inscribed COATED S–OWLA F=4.5cm. There is no diaphragm iris but Waterhouse stops on a sliding plate. Next to the right-hand lens is a small lever switching the shutter operation from STEREO to SINGLE. The S-Owla is a meniscus lens; Advertisement reproduced in , p.165. its name is perhaps related to the Owla company which later made the Owla Stereo, announced in 1956. The camera has manual advance and the film runs from right to left. The advance knob is at the top left and has an arrow engraved to indicate the winding direction. The back is hinged to the right and contains one or two red windows in the middle, protected by horizontally sliding individual covers; instructions for use are displayed on various plates screwed above the back leather. The dimensions are 165×77×60mm, and the weight is 680g. Column in no.63, p.117, reproduced in this page. Versions Two versions of the Stereo Hit are known, distinguished by the number of red windows; it is not known which came first. Two red windows The version with two red windows in the middle has three plates on the back, displaying user instructions in an approximate English. Example pictured in , item 6033, example pictured in this page at Stereoskopie.com, example sold as lot no.754 of Westlicht Auction no.11, and example pictured in this page. Above the red windows we read: The table placed under the red windows explains how to position the numbers of the paper backing to have proper alignment of the stereo pairs: This means that you have to display the no.1 in the right window for the first pair, then in the left window for the second pair, then the no.3 in the right window again for the third pair, and so on. On the right of the red windows are instructions to use the camera in single picture mode, using only the right-hand lens: Single red window The other version only has the left-hand red window and two plates on the back. Example observed in an online auction. The plate on the left, above the red window, reads as follows: The plate on the right reads as follows: It seems that this version is made to use 127 film with half numbers added to the full frame (1 to 8) sequence on the paper backing; it is not known when and where this type of rollfilm was sold. Commercial life The Stereo Hit was first advertised in in August 1955, and was announced in various magazines in September. , p.360. The September and October advertisements in Advertisements reproduced in , pp.165 and 205. say that the camera was "recommended by Mr. Yoshikawa Hayao (吉川速男先生御推奨)". Yoshikawa Hayao (1890-1959) wrote books about small format cameras from the 1920s to the 1950s. See this page about a book titled First steps in small format cameras (小形カメラの第一歩) published in 1932 by Genkōsha (玄光社). See also this page for a book titled "Small format movie technique" (小形活動写真術) published in 1929. The camera is listed at including the viewer, a very low price. The September advertisement also mentions an unnamed "Stereo Camera" (ステレオカメラ) using 35mm film. It corresponds to the Stereo Leader, and it is presented as such in the October advertisement. The advertisements for the Stereo Hit disappeared very soon, and none is found after October 1955. , p.360. The camera is listed again in the Summer 1957 special issue of on Japanese cameras, at an unchanged price. Column in no.63, p.117, reproduced in this page. The document contains mistakes in the lens and shutter features. It is not listed in , p.360. This is the last known mention of the Stereo Hit, whose production was perhaps already stopped by the time. Accessories The camera was sold as a set in an orange box marked STEREO-HIT 3-D CAMERA WITH VIEWER, together with the following accessories: In addition to the set pictured in this article, another set is pictured in this page at Stereoskopie. * a fold-out viewer made of metal; * cardboard inserts for contact prints; * a tan case embossed STEREO-HIT at the front; * a neck strap. The cardboard inserts' front side is accordingly marked, to help their correct placing in the viewer. The images produced by the right-hand lens have a crescent-shaped mark on the edge to distinguish them, and must be placed on the left in the inserts. There was also a bulb flash unit, complete with synch cord, sold in a separate box marked STEREO-HIT 3D CAMERA Flash Unit. Notes Bibliography * Item 723. (See also the advertisements for item 993.) * Pp.92–3. * P.931. * no.39 (September 1955). "Nyūsu furashu: kochira no nyūsu" (ニュースフラシュ・こちらのニュース, News flash: news from Japan). Pp.182–3. * no.63 (Summer 1957). "Nihon no kamera zenbō: Tokushu – mame kamera" (日本のカメラ全貌・特殊・豆カメラ, Compendium of Japanese cameras: special and subminiature cameras). P.117. * Shima Kazuya (島和也). "Sutereo kamera onparēdo" (ステレオカメラオンパレード, Stereo cameras on parade). Pp.21–5. * Item 6033. Links In English: * Stereo Hit at Caméra Collection (in both English and French) * Stereo Hit in the Westlicht Photographica Auction no.11, 26 May 2007, lot no.754 In German: * Stereo Hit and instruction manual at Stereoskopie.com In Dutch: * Stereo Hit in Retro Camera's Verzamelaar In Swedish: * Stereo Hit in a page about stereo cameras at Ove Karlsson's camera collection In Japanese: * Stereo Hit in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology Category: Japanese stereo Category: Japanese 3x4 Category: 127 stereo Category: Tougodo Category: S Hit, Stereo